[nabs-l] taking a college class for no credit

Thu Dec 3 06:16:44 UTC 2015

Hi,

First, it depends on whether or not you actually plan to enroll at
Tech.  As Arielle pointed out, you will only be there for a short
amount of time and if you don't officially enroll they can't even
issue you a transcript.  I definitely agree that you shouldn't
jeopardize your scholarship, but I also see the value in what you are
wanting to do to gain some practical experience with college before
jumping in.  One thing I've recently heard of someone doing was
"unofficially auditting" the class.  You might have interesting times
figuring this out as a new incoming student, but I've heard of people
just consistently sitting in on classes to learn without registering
with the university or officially auditing the class.  I know at our
university people who audit aren't really expected to take the tests
and do the homework if they don't want to since they're not being
graded anyway, but if the prof is willing to still provide you with
electronic coppies of the materials I don't see why you couldn't still
do the work for practice.  I agree that you should ask the college
prep coordinator or Pam, whoever you are in contact with.

You can also call your school's scholarship or financial aid office
and explain the situation.  You don't have to give away specifics if
you don't feel like it, but if you say you're a student with deferred
enrollment who has an opportunity to practice adjusting to college
while receiving some life skills training you could maintain some
annonymity if you're nervous about that being an issue.  However, no
one you talk to on the front lines of an office phone should have any
authority to mess with your scholarship even if you did use your name
and say it was blindness training you're going for, because you
haven't made any final moves yet.  I'd personally recommend just being
upfront about it and say that this is something you'd like to do if it
will not jeopardize your scholarship, because then you could outline
the benefits you'll get out of it.  You could also then have someone
from disability services back you up if you wished, which could
possibly swing things in your favor since you are trying to do a good
thing which would be beneficial to you.

Even if it doesn't work out, Justin makes a good point that you do
have nabs as a resource, as well as any other college student friends
or mentors you might have.  Don't forget about the resources that are
already available, especially because even after you go to LCB and
possibly take the class at Tech taking one class will be very
different from taking 4 or 5 at the same time.

HTH

On 12/2/15, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Vejas,
>
> I think Arielle made some great suggestions. In addition, I am wondering if
> it would make any difference as to what type of class you might want to
> take
> while receiving training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.
>
> I know some colleges offer classes on how to be a successful college
> student
> where you learn things such as time management, effective study habits,
> tips
> for taking tests, and other things that make for a successful college
> student. I am wondering what your college in California would think about
> you taking such a class as a part of your training at the Louisiana Center
> for the Blind. Since most scholarships depend on maintaining a certain
> grade
> point average, the college in California might be willing to make an
> exception to their rules if you are interested in taking a nonacademic
> class
> that would allow you to be a more successful student once you start taking
> classes there.
>
> I have no idea if the college in California would be willing to make an
> exception to their rules, but it might be something worth investigating. I
> know I was not prepared for college straight out of high school, so I would
> definitely encourage anyone to take a college class as a part of their
> training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind if they believe it is
> something that would benefit them.
>
> Warm regards,
> Elizabeth
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas
> Vasiliauskas via nabs-l
> Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2015 10:00 PM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
> Subject: [nabs-l] taking a college class for no credit
>
> Hi All,
> I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this, or could give
> me
> some guidance on my situation.
> I live in California, but am taking a year off between my senior year and
> my
> first year of college so that I can attend LCB.
> I applied for college last year as a senior, and already have a place at a
> college in California, which I deferred.  I received a scholarship from
> this
> school for a very generous amount of money.
> I am allowed to keep the scholarship provided that I don't take any college
> courses at all from anywhere else.
> Most LCB students have the opportunity to take a college class at Tech, and
> I would like to be able to do that too, for two main
> reasons: to learn about how tests work and to learn about asking for
> accommodations in a place where I have lots of support.
> I have heard that it is possible to audit a class, which means to take it
> with no credit, but I don't want my current school to find out at all, so I
> want to make sure that the procedure is done right.
> Any advice on how to approach this would be welcome.
> Thanks,
> Vejas
>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
Division 2015-2016

"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"